DEC Celebrates Pride Month 2024 – Reflect, Empower, Unite
June is Pride Month, and each year during Pride, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recognizes those fighting for social justice and equality for all New Yorkers. LGBTQIA+ Pride Month provides a time to acknowledge the significant and positive contributions of New York’s LGBTQIA+ community and the impact these leaders have on the social, economic, environmental, and political fabric of society. At DEC, we are committed to making our workplace welcoming, inclusive, and safe for all employees, without fear of discrimination or marginalization.
NYC Pride recently announced this year’s Pride Month theme – Reflect, Empower, Unite. For more information, visit the NYC Pride website. As noted on the NYC Pride website, in a time of division in the U.S. and the world, this year’s theme calls for unity within and throughout the LGBTQIA+ community and is a call to action for all allies, especially those in government and the private sector, to demonstrate their alliance at this critical time in history.
This year marks the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, an event right here in New York that is considered the start of the national gay rights movement. It comes at a time when the LGBTQIA+ community finds itself under increasing attack and opposition. From the introduction of hundreds of anti-gay, anti-trans legislation, to the weaponizing of Drag Story Hour, to heartbreaking stories of bullying and violence against young trans youth, the gains of the movement are in peril of being eroded or erased by those who seek to deny basic human rights.
DEC is committed to continuing to foster inclusive and safe spaces, both in the workplace and in the communities where we live, work, and play.
Transgender Day of Visibility
In March 2024, DEC officially recognized Transgender Day of Visibility for the very first time. Governor Kathy Hochul once again proclaimed March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility to acknowledge the contributions that members of the transgender community have made in New York State and across the country. And in April of this year, DEC created a new Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Civil Rights
DEC’s observance of Transgender Day of Visibility kicked off March 28, with a table in the lobby of DEC’s Central Office in Albany hosted by DEC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team, who distributed flags and stickers. DEC’s Cultural Awareness Committee hosted a lunch-and-learn discussion with Priya Nair, Deputy Chief Diversity Officer from the Governor’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Priya’s remarks featured an overview of the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations Gender Identity in the Workplace Toolkit and the addition of gender identity training in this year’s mandatory employee trainings.
As a part of the event, DEC employees from across the state participated in a meaningful discussion about how to make our workplace more inclusive and welcoming to everyone, including the importance of being an ally and understanding the issues that LGBTQIA+ people face every day.
DEC 2024 Pride Month Observations
This June, look for DEC’s participation and cheer us on as we represent the agency at several 2024 Pride events statewide, including:
- June 2: Buffalo Pride Parade - for more information, go to the Buffalo Pride website.
- June 8 and 9: Albany Pride Month Celebration, including a pride celebration in Albany’s Washington Park followed by the annual Pride Parade on Sunday, for more information, go to In Our Own Voices, Inc. - Say it Loud! BIPOC Pride and Pride Center of the Capital Region.
- June 30: NYC Pride March, for more information go to the NYC Pride website.
New Photo Contest
As part of DEC’s Love Our New York Lands effort, DEC recently announced a new photo contest for visitors to DEC lands to capture the many ways they are recreating safely and responsibly. June’s contest theme is “Pride” to highlight the importance of sharing State lands with all New Yorkers, including the LGBTQIA+ community, and ensuring a safe and welcoming space. Seven winning pictures will be chosen that represent each color of the rainbow Pride flag: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo/violet. The Pride pictures will be used next year in a curated compilation similar to this year’s image created by DEC and found on this page, among other potential uses. More information is available in the press release.
Pride Month Recommended Reading List:
Bibliography by Kate Moss, DEC Senior Librarian
Goldsmith, Leo., Michelle L. Bell. 2022. “Queering Environmental Justice: Unequal Environmental Health Burden on the LGBTQ+ Community.” American Journal of Public Health 112 (1): 79-87.
Mann, Samuel, Tara McKay, and Gilbert Gonzales. 2024. “Climate Change-Related Disasters & the Health of LGBTQ+ Populations.” The Journal of Climate Change and Health, February, 100304.
Pouydebat, Emmanuelle. 2022. Sexus Animalis: There Is Nothing Unnatural in Nature. Translated by Erik Butler. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Roughgarden, Joan. 2013. Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. Tenth-anniversary edition. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Sandilands, Catriona, ed. 2011. Queer Ecologies: Sex, Nature, Politics, Desire. Nachdr. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press.
Whitley, Cameron T., and Melanie M. Bowers. 2023. “Queering Climate Change: Exploring the Influence of LGBTQ+ Identity on Climate Change Belief and Risk Perceptions*.” Sociological Inquiry 93 (3): 413–39.
Banner image photo credits:
- Pink- Keith Walters
- Red- Joey Priola
- Orange- David Goetzmann
- Yellow- Kayla Lippke
- Green- Will Gard
- Blue- Tony Colasurdo
- Purple- Keith Walters
